Maria
Raised in the house of hard knocks, Maria has blood boiling over for you. If you step into her neighborhood, you need to be ready to take it. -''Arcade Mode Description'' Maria is a minor character found in Midnight Club II. Her presence serves to advance the storyline within the city of Los Angeles, as well as to introduce newly discovered elements within the game. Her involvement in the game is heightened slightly through the fact that she is related to another racer, Hector. She is voiced by Melissa Delaney DeValle. Career Maria is suggested to be the third character the protagonist meets within the city of Los Angeles. She is seen circling the inner core of the Watts district, near the extensive construction site. When following her, one will notice that she comes to a complete stop before passing underneath an overpass. Upon flashing one's high beams, she leads you through most of the city, arriving at the end of Palisades Park in Santa Monica. Her driving sequence is unique in a sense that, while guiding you to her first race destination, scripted traffic is laid out to cause a brief moment of difficulty whilst in her pursuit. This occurs when driving through a parkade, which will have a series of vehicles vacating their parking spots simultaneously. Freeway Rally In her first race, named 'Freeway Rally', you compete against five other racers. Another race designed as an introduction to additional elements brought forth in the game, it centres both on freeway checkpoints and using the games in-air controls. A strong police presence (featuring helicopters identifying positions with a spotlight), a mimic Ford Explorer making a hard left on the freeway offramp, two semi-trucks (the first darting through the intersection between the freeway ramps, the other carrying a tanker of gas near the finish), and the reintroduction of a sole police interceptor near the finish are amongst the obstacles one will face within their duration of this contest. It finishes at a corner gas station, with some of the opponents comically ramming into the pumps as they cross the end line, therefore exploding upon arrival. Corner Cutter Her second race, 'Corner Cutter' has you in the games second head-to-head match. It begins at the aformentioned gas station, and takes you for a twisted ride through both the Watts district and the industrial park. With plenty of turns requiring the ability for precise maneuvering, the Emu is recommended, as its weight and cornering capabilities prove to be ideal. A rundown of the scripted traffic, though being quite extensive, is as follows: heavy traffic near Snapper Place (in-game reference to the Staples Centre, which hosts the Los Angeles Kings), a police car and an Explorer lookalike on the road to the right of the stadium, a parked SUV, another in a gas station and a parked moving truck a block from a large complex, a police vehicle attempting to apprehend you a block south of downtown, another SUV in yet another gas station in the industrial park, a mimic Honda Accord passing through a four way intersection, followed by a police barricade in the Watts district, a generic sedan resembling a Honda Civic sedan leaving a convenience store, a series of idle police cars acting as a barricade leading into Santa Monica, and lastly, a Ford Explorer crossing an intersection near the promenade adjacent to the finish line. Upon completion, and amidst her state of tantrum and resent, Maria hands over the keys to her bright orange Torrida. Trivia *Maria, being his younger sister, is related to Hector, referencing him when losing to the player for the final time. Also, both she and Hector are from Watts. * Her car, Torrida, is clearly based on Honda Integra Type R. *She is known to be streetwise and hot-tempered. *Like many of the other racers, she will either question or become angry at you if you run over any civilians. *Throughout both of her races, there is a constant police presence, suggesting that she is one of the more sought after street racers. *Her character is remniscient of Catalina, the main antagonist of Grand Theft Auto III/San Andreas''.'' * She is one of the characters to be shown on the front cover art and title screen of the game. The other two characters are DiceDice & Moses, respectively; although Maria's appearance in the game is slightly altered. Vehicles Torrida2.png|Torrida Category:Characters in MC2